Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Our little one is ten months old and clearly off to college any day now. She's growing up way too quickly, but we are enjoying all our time with her.

She now can easily get from her back or belly to a seated position, which makes life easier. She isn't crawling on her hands and knees yet, but gets in the position regularly and then decides to army crawl instead. Whatever floats her boat, I guess.

She is mastering more and more sounds. John and I are both convinced she says "dog" in her own way ("ah-duh" or "duh"). She says it when she sees Harper and plays with her. We're unsure if she says "mama" or "dada" and means me or John, but she definitely says the words. She does the sign for "more" all the time - she might just think it means she gets what she wants.

Orelia is picking up on the funniest things lately. She obsessively grabs wipes from her changing table and then tries to wipe her own butt. She tries to pick up Harper's favorite ball with the Chuck-It (the thing John and I use to throw Harper's ball). She knows when we are preparing food for her and gets antsy for it. She's learning things all the time, even when we aren't trying to teach her.

Her new favorite thing is airplanes. Whenever she hears them fly by she looks up and tries to spot them. If she can get them in her sights, there is no chance to get her interested in anything else until the plane is gone. She still loves all dogs, too, and naturally loves Harper the most.

Oddly enough she's still taking three naps most days. Sometimes she will take two, but we are both happier when she takes three.

She nurses four times a day and eats solids pretty much at all hours. Her favorite foods are soft pretzels from the farmers market, apricots, and saltines. Yogurt is still at the top of her list too. Obviously she now has four teeth that have grown all the way in, and at least another two on the way.

She gets long baths every night now - around 30 minutes of quality time with dad. She loves splashing around, dipping her face in the water, drinking sudsy water from all the toys, and rolling around on her back and tummy. She's our little water baby!

It's fun now that she really plays with all her toys instead of just putting things in her mouth. She loves to chase her stacking cups and balls around the floor when they escape her. She has Lego-like blocks that she likes to take apart (though she can't exactly put them together very well) and she uses two toys together in new ways. We sing songs, clap, and listen to lots of music around these parts. Ten months is a fun time for us!

Monday, June 10, 2013

For the past ten months I've been working in house. The hours can be grueling and the pay is awful, but the benefits are pretty good.

I recently submitted a bill to the client, and I thought I might share a recent day's timesheet.

99999.00001 - Orelia Marie/First Year

0.5 hr - Feed client.

0.5 hr - Breakfast meeting.

0.25 hr - Research ducklings and ball pit regulations.

0.5 hr - Review and analyze Music Together CD.

1.0 hr - Nap time.

0.5 hr - Examine apricots, yogurt, and crackers.

0.5 hr - Meet with Harper to analyze neighborhood foliage.

0.5 hr - Feed client.

1.0 hr - Attend bilingual story time and play with wooden train set.

1.0 hr - Nap time.

3.0 hr - Meet with associates to discuss maritime law issue.

1.0 hr. - Nap time.
0.5 hr. - Feed client.

0.5 hr - Review Barnyard Dance and snuggle with Mr. Monkey.

0.5 hr - Research local sprinkler systems.

0.25 hr - Dinner meeting.

0.35 hr - Bathe client and prepare for bed.

0.5 hr - Feed client.

(Yikes - remind me never to take pictures with my terrible phone camera again.)(Also, John was out of town for this particular work day, thus increasing my bill to the client in the morning and evening.)